San Antonio, TX Outdoor Cooking: BBQ & Propane Rules (2026)

2 of the 2024 International Fire Code, as amended by San Antonio Code of Ordinances Sec. 11-40, targets Group R, Division 1 and 2 occupancies, meaning apartments, condominiums, and other multifamily residential buildings. The rule bars any resident from constructing, installing, maintaining, or using an incinerator, barbecue pit, grill, or fuel-fired lantern, heater, or torch in a way that creates a fire hazard. Two specific conditions are declared an automatic fire hazard and are strictly prohibited: operating any of those devices within 10 linear feet of a combustible surface such as a deck, porch, balcony, wall, or veranda, and operating one beneath a balcony, porch, roof overhang, deck, or veranda regardless of distance.

The code carves out three exceptions: fuel-burning devices tied into the building's own gas line with fire-official-approved safeguards, outdoor kitchens built as part of an R-1 or R-2 common recreation area with approved safeguards, and one- and two-family houses, which are exempt from the 10-foot rule unless the grill is used within 5 feet of an adjacent structure or a neighboring property. That carve-out means the strict 10-foot rule lands hardest on apartment and condo tenants rather than single-family homeowners. The San Antonio Fire Marshal's Office enforces Chapter 11 as a whole, and Sec.

11-1 sets the general penalty for any Chapter 11 violation, including this one. Appeals of a fire code official's determination go to the Building-Related and Fire Code Appeals and Advisory Board under Code Sec. 00 filing fee applies to that appeal.